Bob Benden - Theme focused book review.

Bob Benden

First Five Picture Book Reviews

For my five picture books, I simply picked five books at random from the bookstore and read through them. I looked for an overall theme in the book and analyzed how well it related to the kids reading the books (or having it read to them) and what sort of issues or ideals the book can bring to the forefront for discussions (with the exception of Thesaurus Rex, which I found to be simply entertaining and educational in a different way). I feel the most important aspect of most kids’ books is to educate kids on social issues, and not necessarily academia.

Franco, Betsy. Zero Leaves Nothing on the Tree. New York, New York: Tricycle, 2009. Print.

                Zero Leaves Nothing on the Tree is the first counting book I’ve ever encountered that dealt with the number zero. Often counting books start at one and proceed from there, however this one simply only discusses the number zero and what it looks like in different scenarios. I liked this book a lot because while it could be interpreted as depressing (just look at the title) I think it has a very uplifting tone to it. In addition, the illustrations are very simple (mostly primary colors) and show children of many different cultures and races. The book deals with the number zero in areas of kids’ everyday lives, and I think it’s a really interesting concept and the book was a very entertaining read.

Steinberg, Laya. Thesaurus Rex. New York: Barefoot Books, 2005. Print.

            Thesaurus Rex is a very educational story about a T. Rex and his journey through a fun day with his mom. The story rhymes well and has quite a bit of alliteration in it as well. The book covers many different synonyms for the main word on each page (i.e. sip, slurp etc.). Thus teaching kids many different ways to say the same thing. This book could be exceptionally useful with younger kids since the language is relatively simple, yet vocabulary can be greatly expanded just by reading a handful of pages. The illustrations are very simple and done in a pastel style pallet. While fun, this book is very educational and would be a great way to teach students new vocabulary or to teach them what synonyms are.

Verroken, Sarah. Feeling Sad. Enchanted Lion Books, 2009. Print.

                Feeling Sad is a generally uplifting story about a duck with a negative view on the world around her and her teddy bear. It is raining throughout the first half of the book until she meets a frog who totally changes her views on life and the rain stops. The pictures are done in black and white, until the duck finally turns her attitude around and she is shown in color. This book helps children learn that sadness is a part of everyone’s life, however it can take just one small thing to start turning your mood around and put everything back into a better lens. I think this book could be very useful to use in a class since many kids are learning emotional expression and finding the vocabulary to convey their emotions while inside the age range of those for whom these books are intended.

Chodos-Irvine, Margaret. Best Best Friends. New York: Harcourt, 2006. Print.

                Best Best Friends is about a pair of friends, Clare and Mary who’s friendship is tested at an early age by an unknown feeling. Mary’s birthday party (and all the attention being on Mary) brings about jealousy in Clare, and she is forced to realize what it is she feels. She eventually gets over it and they become best friends again. I think this book is very helpful for kids to understand what the feeling of jealousy is, as it is a very complex and strange emotion to be feeling. I think this really helps kids understand what it is, and more importantly gives a word or a label to an emotion they’ve probably felt yet couldn’t express nor understand. In addition, it shows kids the importance of friendships and how despite uncomfortable situations, they’re very important to maintain. Most importantly, I feel this book really focuses on jealousy in an interesting and very relatable way to kids.

Janisch, Heinz. "I Have a Little Problem," Said the Bear. North-South, 2009. Print.

                This story is about a bear who has a small problem and a very big problem by the end. He keeps trying to tell different members of his community about them, yet they keep interjecting and trying to solve it without actually listening. I think this books theme of listening and the importance of hearing and truly understanding someone’s problems is a very good one to cover for children of this age. Especially when students of this age have no idea how to go about telling people their problems, it’s important they see how much of a difference simply listening can make, instead of rushing to solve based on an immediate judgment. The artwork in this book I found to be very captivating with the different styles on each page and its creative interpretations of the area around the bear.